


Subject 3

by PutAnotherX



Series: David [1]
Category: Underworld (Movies)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Kidnapping, Vampires, Werewolves, scientific testing on a minor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-22 12:16:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8285554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PutAnotherX/pseuds/PutAnotherX
Summary: "I know who you are," the man told him. His eyes felt as if they were burning into David's own, as hard as he tried to break the gaze. "You're Thomas's son. Everyone's looking for you."David's first encounter with Antigen Labs was much more personal.A David origin story.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> In this story, the purge is a somewhat new event. A lot of the humans' anti-lycan and anti-vampire weaponry is just being created. A search for the "cure" is still in progress and has not been found fruitless yet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is so so short, but I'm trying to gauge whether or not people would want to read this. Also made some changes to accurately match cannon as of Blood Wars.

Each of their footsteps echoed through the dank alleyway as David and his caretaker fled. Her grip on his upper arm was painful, but he didn’t protest. His father had taken a small portion of the coven the other way to distract the soldiers, and David and Grace had gotten separated from the rest somehow. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and feel the blood rushing to his face. They rounded one more corner and were faced with a brick wall. He knew it was too high for him to jump. A gunshot sounded, and David's left shoulder erupted in scorching heat. Grace yanked him into a pile of cardboard boxes. She whirled to face their attackers and hissed, baring her fangs. Her usually brown eyes flashed a vibrant, unnatural blue.

The next moments were a blur for David. His vision swam, and his shoulder felt as if it were paper in a fireplace. He didn't know how many soldiers there were besides Too Many. His caretaker launched herself onto the first soldier, and she had him on the ground before the rest could squeeze out any of the bullets. But they did manage before she could even turn to attack the next one. They all managed to get in a couple of rounds, each wound emitting a harsh white light. David tried to call out to her, tried to fight back against her killers, tried to do anything, but the flames in his own body were spreading. He was quickly losing consciousness as the only mother he ever knew burned to a crisp in front of his unfocused eyes.

The last thing he felt was hands lifting him, being cradled almost tenderly and carried away from her.


	2. Chapter 2

When David awoke, his lungs were filled with a bitter, stinging smoke. The mask on his face pushed more of the gas into him, each breath more burning than the last. His eyes opened to a gray tiled ceiling and piercing blue-white light. His body began to shiver uncontrollably in the cold air, but the straps held him in place on the table. 

"He's waking up," a deep, brash voice said. "Should we put him back under?"

"No need." This voice was higher and older, but still distinctly male. "Just give him nitrous. He won't fight."

The gas in David's nostrils turned sweet, but the burning remained. His head swam and his body floated off the table. He fought to get words out. Any words. 

"What's. Happening?" he huffed. His voice rang false in his own ears. Speaking should have been excruciating, he could tell, but the pain was as foreign as his voice. There, but not truly a part of him.

"Hush," the older voice snapped harshly. A pin pricked at the joint of David's elbow. A needle, maybe. He couldn't tell. All he could do was stare at the ceiling and listen to the disembodied voices around him. Every so often, a machine beeped in the background.

"We're done, sir," the gruff voice announced.

"Knock him out and take him to an empty cell. Send Lida in when he wakes up."

David's eyes closed.


	3. Chapter 3

David's eyelashes fluttered as he awoke again somewhere new. His shoulder ached dully where he was shot, a faint reminder that he could have died if the UV bullet had lodged in his flesh instead of passing right through. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't died, so he sat up to absorb his surroundings.

A metal shelf held up the sheetrock he was on that was supposed to pass for a mattress. The cheap synthetic fiber sheets seemed to claw at his skin as he moved against them. They were white. Clinical, just like the clothes he was wearing. The walls were built of cinder blocks and painted a single coat of chipped, fading white that was no doubt once as sterile as everything else. The floors were bare concrete. There was only one other piece of furniture in the vacuous space: a single chair, all function just like everything else. It all seemed perfectly designed to make David feel as tiny as possible. 

The hulking metal door groaned as it opened, revealing a woman in a white lab coat. Her heels clicked on the floor as the door shut behind her. Her features were mangled in an affectionate smile, and the cold light washed out her dark hair and olive skin.

"Hello," she said as she lowered herself into the chair. "My name is Dr. Lida. I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that all right?"

David didn't answer, just narrowed his eyes and tried mostly successfully not to pout.

"What is your name?" she asked.

Again, he gave her silence.

"Alright, I'll just call you Subject 3." She scribbled something down in her notebook.

"My name is David," he spat, "not Subject 3. Where the hell am I?"

Lida's eyes widened, and her lips fell apart. "How old are you?" she asked.

"I'll only tell you how old I am if you tell me where I am," he said.

She seemed to consider it for a second before replying. "You're at Antigen Labs," she said slowly.

"I'm 14. Why am I here?"

"We want to study you to find a cure for the epidemic. Where you 14 when you were bitten?"

David's eyebrows knit together. "I wasn't bitten," he said. "I was born a vampire."

Lida's pen clattered to the floor. "You were born infected?"

He scoffed. "Is that what they're calling it these days?" he asked. "Infected?"

"It's a disease, David. We're searching for a cure. That's why you're here."

David's eyes stung with tears, suddenly reminded that Lida was on the side of the soldiers. However friendly she seemed to him, they had opposite goals. "I'm here because _you_ took me here. You killed Grace."

Lida's expression softened. "Was Grace your mother?"

_She might as well have been,_ he thought. He said, "She was my caretaker."

"What are your parents' names?"

"I'm not answering that." He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. "I'm not answering anything else."

"David," she pressed, leaning into the first syllable. Her black eyes bore into him, but his resolve stayed firm. "Fine," she said, rising to her feet. "I'm only trying to help you. I've been assigned to take care you. I'll be the only one you'll see on a regular basis and I imagine the only truly friendly face here."

He wondered how long they would keep him like this. His stomach grumbled, and he hoped they would actually feed him blood.

"Dinner is in two hours," Lida said. She turned on her heel and clicked out of the cell, the door moaning as it opened and slamming behind her. 


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David gets a visitor who offers freedom. At a price.

David lost track of time somewhere along the third night. Each time a tray slid through the slot in the door he looked, hoping it would be different than last time. Each time it was the same: a cold bowl of porridge and a dinner roll.

He hadn't seen Dr. Lida—or anyone for that matter—since the first day. A sickly sweet gas had released from the ceiling after she left, and he found it impossible to keep his eyes open. When he had awakened, his cell had gained a short plywood bookshelf, and a notepad had been placed on top, next to a cheap plastic pen.

Printed on the design of each page of the pad was a logo that read _Antigen Labs _. Underneath that, _Subject 3 _. He used it to tally the inedible meals they pushed through the door. It was as close as he could get to marking the time.____

____When the door groaned open again, David fully expected to see Dr. Lida. Instead, a man entered the cell. Tall and broad, with dark hair down to his shoulders and a gray jumpsuit, the man turned to face David._ _ _ _

____A jagged scar marred his face; his small eyes felt as though they were burning into David's own. As hard as he tried, David couldn't break the gaze._ _ _ _

____"Hello, child," the man said. He reeked of lycan._ _ _ _

____"I'm not a child," David protested. "I'm—"_ _ _ _

____"I know who you are, David," the man said, cutting him off. "You're Thomas's son. Everyone's looking for you."_ _ _ _

____The vampire closed his eyes, finally breaking the painful staring contest. "Are you going to kill me?" he asked without opening his eyes, his voice faint and low._ _ _ _

____He flinched at the man's barking laugh. "Kill you? That's a waste of perfectly good leverage, child. My name is Marius," the man said, reaching an enormous hand into his jumpsuit pocket. "Eventually, you and I will be leaving this place, but for now, you'll need your strength." He pulled out a bag of blood, frost still dotted around the surface where Marius's hands hadn't melted it._ _ _ _

____The bag hit David's chest with a soft thud when Marius tossed it. As hungry as David was, he wasn't sure if he could trust sustenance from a lycan. He could smell it through the bag, though, and his hands were barely warm enough to melt any of the frost. Using his teeth, he yanked out the little red stopper from the tube and drained the bag in seconds._ _ _ _

____"Good," Marius said. "Now they've got plans for you tomorrow and the rest of the week so we'll have to wait until they give you a rest day on Saturday to leave. It will give us more time before they realize you're gone." He turned to leave._ _ _ _

____"Wait," David said. "What day is it now?"_ _ _ _

____"Monday night," Marius answered. "Good luck."_ _ _ _


End file.
